Dublin’s M&L Chinese Restaurant is certainly an odd establishment. There is no doubt that, visually, it’s unimpressive. However, once your food is brought to your table you’re in for a sensorial experience that firmly proves that first impressions are not always right. In the case of M&L, what you see at first is most certainly not what you get.
The restaurant prides itself on authenticity, aiming to bring the best Szechuan dishes all the way from China to the northside of Dublin. And sure enough, nestled away on Cathedral St, just off O’Connell St, it is a hidden gem – a Chinese food heaven.
M&L is a restaurant that embraces its diamond-among-the-rough appeal. From the outside, it doesn’t look particularly appealing. Beneath some fairy lights is a flashing red “open” sign. Blown-up menu images fill the front windows in an exterior decor style that, upon close inspection, is vaguely reminiscent of every local, slightly dodgy, Chinese takeaway. The decor inside is not much better, not so much simple as it is plain. It’s not visually attractive but it’s not trying to be, as M&L knows that the true star of the show is the food. And, trust me, the food will always come out on top.
It is noteworthy that there are two kinds of menus at M&L. There is the Chinese and the English menu. The latter includes a selection of “European dishes” to appease the less adventurous among us. Here you’ll find a precarious roster of chips and omelettes, which should be avoided at all costs, as the traditional Szechuan dishes on offer are among the finest and most traditional in Dublin.
As one of the few non-Asian people eating there, I take it as a sure-fire indicator of the quality of the dishes. Be sure to try something from the pages of chef recommendations and speciality Szechuan dishes for a Chinese treat you couldn’t get anywhere else.
In terms of value, M&L cannot be beaten. The main-course meals average out at less than €15 each and the set menus for groups of two, three or four offer group-friendly selections of the best and most popular dishes on the menu for nicely controlled prices and generous portions.
The finest review I can ever give a restaurant is that I would love to return and I will gladly return to M&L to work my way through the expansive menu, confident in the knowledge that I’m satisfying my Chinese food cravings with the best option Dublin has to offer.
